'The Avengers: EMH!' Story Editor Chris Yost talks about the evolution of the series and the upcoming premiere!

Published

Oct 19, 2010

Updated

Oct 19, 2010

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Before "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" assembles on Disney XD on October 20, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk and their fellow heroes fight the battle against evil right here on Marvel.com in a series of Micro-Episodes debuting September 22! Catch all the Micro-Episodes now, and come back every day for new video interviews, character art and more on Marvel.com from now until the highly anticipated hour-long series premiere of "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" on Disney XD on October 20!

Known to comics fans as the co-writer of X-FORCE and numerous other series, Chris Yost has also worked for many years in animation. Most recently, he served as Story Editor on "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!," the man responsible for overseeing every script of the series as well as writing a number of his own.

While fans have seen a preview of his work in the show's 20 Micro-Episodes, the action kicks into high gear with the hour-long series premiere tomorrow, October 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on Disney XD! So while you're waiting with baited breath for the action-packed premiere, we spoke with Yost about working on the series and what he enjoyed most about the process!

Remember, you can check out all 20 Micro-Episodes right here on Marvel.com, as well as download four of them along with the series trailer for FREE right now on iTunes!

Marvel.com: When you started on the series, what was your mission statement for what you wanted to accomplish with the show?

Chris Yost: My personal mission statement for "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" was to introduce a new generation of kids to the awesomeness of the Avengers [and] to show them what I love so much about the team--the characters, the powers, the villains, the whole universe. The concept of the Avengers hasn't survived for 50-plus years because it's not awesome. And while kids today know of Iron Man and the Hulk, the movies really only scratch the surface. We're giving audiences a major introduction to the wonders of the comic book Marvel Universe, with the Avengers as your guides.

Marvel.com: Were there any specific runs that influenced the tone you wanted to go for with the series?

Chris Yost: Everything, from Stan Lee to Brian Bendis. It's the classic 60's team in a modern comic world, and we're hitting stories from Stan to Brian, with big helpings of Kurt Busiek, and hey--we'll grab a few things from Walt Simonson here and there, too. There's stuff from every era, every major run.

Marvel.com: For the premiere, how did you decide to use a somewhat lesser known villain like Graviton to unite the team?

Chris Yost: We wanted to use aspects of the great "Breakout" story that kickstarted Brian Bendis' NEW AVENGERS, but we needed that one figure among the chaos to really show the scope of what our guys were going to be up against, to truly give them a foe that no single hero could withstand right out of the gate. And I've always loved Graviton. That's power. But when it comes to Avengers villains, he's just the tip of the iceberg. He's just giving the Avengers a little idea of what's out there. It only gets bigger from here.

Marvel.com: What were some of the challenges involved with distilling the Avengers' history and reimagining it in a way totally accessible to new viewers? How did you strike the balance between making the series accessible while also appealing to longtime fans?

Chris Yost: I'm never one to think that anything needs "fixing," but distilling is a good way to describe it. Oddly, there's more time with comics, more space to get into people's heads, to tell the backstories, to get into history, etc. Here, we really have to hit the ground running. So we try to get everything down to its purest form, its essence. And it's tricky, because the fun can be in the details. But I think we've found a good way to get the goods for longtime comic book fans in there, as well as make it accessible to new audiences.

Historically, Avengers villains have some pretty straightforward motivations. So that, coupled with world shattering action, and things start moving! And then we pepper in the details as we go.

Marvel.com: You have several multi-part stories in the run--how did you balance the continuity of the series with more self-contained stories?

Chris Yost: Each and every episode has a threat the Avengers must deal with, and each and every episode offers some resolution to that. There will be the occasional two or three-parter, but things escalate from episode to episode. We don't spend a lot of time recapping events, we just make things as clean as we possibly can, so if somebody channel surfing through finds us, it won't take them long to catch up.

The majority of the episodes are self-contained, but there are story threads moving through the season.

Marvel.com: Do you have a favorite episode in season one?

Chris Yost: It's like I have 26 children, and you're making me choose. My favorite right now is probably episode 23, featuring a huge classic Avengers villain. I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath the first time I watched the finished animation...and I already knew what was going to happen. It's probably the most intense thing I've worked on in animation.

Marvel.com: Any last "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! teases for fans?

Chris Yost: If you've been following the Micro-Episodes, you've seen the heroes in action, facing HYDRA, the Wrecking Crew, the Red Skull, Klaw, Abosrbing Man--[and] we've hinted at Kang, Loki, Ultron and more--well, I can tell you that you haven't seen anything yet. The fight against Graviton is just the beginning. By the time we hit our November two-parter, you'll start to see the scope of this show.

The producers, writers, crew, we're all fans, and we all love the Avengers as much as you do. And "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" is going to give you "a day unlike any other."

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When the planet is threatened by Super Villains, time-traveling conquerors, alien invaders, mythical monsters or mad robots bent on the total destruction of humanity; when the forces of evil are so overwhelming that no single hero has the power to save the world; when there is no hope left, the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

When the planet is threatened by Super Villains, time-traveling conquerors, alien invaders, mythical monsters or mad robots bent on the total destruction of humanity; when the forces of evil are so overwhelming that no single hero has the power to save the world; when there is no hope left, the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!